Crossed Your Path
by The Blade of Osh-Tekk
Summary: Based on the Spider-Man 2 video game. My take on how Spider-Man and Black Cat left off. If he decided to take a different chance than the one in canon. Not sure how long I'll be able to maintain a K rating.
1. Chapter 1 - Paths Crossed

A/N: Been mulling over this idea for a bit. Ever since I booted up Spiderman 2, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. The game is still fun as hell, even to this day. Now, when I went over the story with a more mature and logic mind, there are things I made sense of that my young mind at the time could not. Like the way Black Cat and Spiderman left off. This idea instantly became a thing once I saw it, and it's an ending I support much more than the canon one. You're more than welcome to disagree, but please spare me the lectures. That's not what this story is about. It's a "what might have been," which are ideas that I love to do. Enjoy.

* * *

Peter took off his red mask and lied on the bed in his apartment for a few minutes of peace, his bones aching and his body slowly adjusting to the pain of a few of the bullets from the snipers, assault rifles, and super suits. But his mind was in a bigger wreck than his body.

 _"Is Cat right? Am I just torturing myself? Do I have to give up Peter Parker to be Spiderman?"_ Peter thought, tapping his foot restlessly on the edge of his bed.

 _"What about the people that I know about? How would they feel? It's not like anyone ever sees me now."_ Peter was reminded of all the times he couldn't arrive to events with people he cared about on time or at all sometimes. At times, the disappointment they gave off was a little too apparent for him not to notice.

 _"MJ. Harry. Aunt May,"_ Peter ticked off before sighing audibly. _"No matter how hard it is, I can't abandon my friends. So what, do I quit being Spiderman?"_ The thought was almost immediately wiped from his mind. He knows what would happen if he did that. The chaos in the city is almost too much for him to control sometimes, but he _can_ control it. If he was gone, it'd only spike up instead of going down. And all of his suffering, being late, and other things would be all for nothing from the work _he_ did if he gave up now.

 _"Nope. I can't quit either. I need to find balance in between the two. But I have to realize that I'm also not alone in this. People's lives take priority over little get togethers. I know that. But it's still hard when you can't do both."_ Peter grabbed his mask and looked at the seemingly soulless eyes of the mask. The mask that was a symbol of half of his life. The symbol of the city he swore to protect. And Black Cat had played her own little part in helping him with that.

"Cat..." Peter said aloud, putting the mask back on his beside table and closing his eyes. He met the woman during a art gallery robbery, but it seemed like she didn't take anything even though she probably severely wanted to. Then there was the jewelry store, and again, she didn't take anything. What, were they just distractions to lure him out? If so, what was the purpose?

 _"Shouldn't you try to find somebody more your speed?"_

 _"I was just having some fun with you. You looked kinda cute, trying to figure out what happened back at that warehouse."_

 _"You seriously need to loosen up! Have more fun!"_

Ok, even for him, the hints might've been grossly apparent. But that's all they were. Hints. He had no way of knowing without a confrontation. But then MJ came to his mind again, and she entered one half of a zone that was also preoccupied by Black Cat. He put his thumb and index finger under his chin in thought.

 _"I've had eyes for this girl since the moment I laid eyes on her. But I haven't seen her as much as I would like, and there's no way that I can tell her why that is. Then she's getting married,"_ Peter thought, the depressing fact coming to his mind once again like so many times before these past few months. The sting lessened slightly every time, but only slightly. It still remained.

 _"Then there's Cat,"_ he thought as he finished his thoughts about MJ. A lot of the time, she was his partner in fighting crime. Nothing more. But there was a little... in between that he couldn't quite figure out. He didn't understand if it was just her personality, or what. But she had a knack for saying things that could get him a little hot under the collar. But she also knew ways to get him to cheer up while able to help him fight crime all at the same time. She was definitely amazing, no question about that. But should he put her over a girl he had eyes on for the longest? Or did she really even know him?

She didn't know Spider-Man. She only knew Peter Parker. Whether Black Cat realized it or not, she knew a little bit of both. He acted his normal, goofy self around her a lot of the time. Plenty of times, he could feel his inherent trait of babbling like an idiot when he was around women kick in, thinking about the time when they were heading towards an illegal art deal, he babbled a nice night. Not something he actually expected to come out of his mouth, but it did like word vomit.

 _"Come see me next time you're feeling down, alright?"_ Again, he remembered her words. Peter grabbed his mask and put it on before jumping out of his window. He figured talking to her might actually answer his problematic questions a little bit more. But he wanted to swing around for a bit. The rush of air kind of cleared his head a lot of times when he needed it, but this time, it did not seem to work as well.

 _"She's with the man she loves, and... well, I'm stuck in lingo. Stuck with nothing but my problems and conflicts with the rest of the world, nobody in my corner. But what about me? I may be a superhero, but I deserve to be happy too. At least, I would like to think so. But who can lead me down that path of happiness? I've felt more of it with Cat in one encounter than I have since I became Spiderman around MJ,"_ Peter thought, his mind starting to lead him one way.

 _"And you think that will make you more happy with her than the woman you've been after for the longest?"_ another part of his mind said.

 _"A core part of the reason that MJ likes this guy is because he's there for her. We certainly can't be that person, but Cat knows. She's not out to need us when we have to stop a robbery or save someone from a burning building. If anything, she's right there alongside us,"_ the first part of his mind said.

 _"Shouldn't you try to find someone more your speed?"_ Her words rang out through his head again, and that gave him somewhat of a push. He didn't know if she was hinting at it, but he'd figure he'd try a bit of a probe. See what happened. He didn't instantly want to make any assumptions, but he'd try it.

He saw her leaning against a building, and he landed hard in front of her. Moving his neck to the side while it gave off a small crack to relieve some of the tension out of it, he stood up straight to face her.

"Hey," he said evenly with a wave. Though weirdly enough, his wave came off more... awkward than he would've liked it. Something strange about it.

"Hey. I was wondering if you were going to show up," she said, getting up off the wall.

"I suppose you were right about the thing with the arms deal. Though I'm too much of the type to leave things to chance, you know?" Spider-Man said, looking at at the ground for a bit before looking back up at her. She couldn't see his face and he couldn't look her directly in the eye, but he still felt somewhat nervous.

"I'm not sure if I have to repeat myself about your issue of having fun once again, but I can definitely say it's a problem," Black Cat said. He didn't have a response to that, so he remained silent as his gaze slightly shifted away from her. "Ok... you look like you have more stuff on your mind. You may as well pay me to be your psychologist at this point."

"I always have a lot on my mind, because things are never simple with me," Spider-Man said, walking back and forth near the edge of the building. "I've been doing some thinking. I realized that I can't give up either side of who I am. Superhero and being normal. There are too many people on either side that rely on me." Black Cat sighed. She knew that would be the case, but it wouldn't hurt to try to convince him out of it.

"I figured that. It's your life. But hey," she said, refusing to feel down with herself. "If you feel that the human life is you, then by all means, do it. But it's just not for me."

"Why is that?" Spider-Man asked, not even thinking about the question.

"What?" Black Cat asked, genuinely caught somewhat off guard.

"Why is it that you don't like the normal life? I mean, you said it was boring, but I can't help but feel it's something... more," Spider-Man asked.

"It's just not me Spider," Black Cat said.

"We were both people before we were what we are now, Cat. There's something that made you give it up," Spider-Man said.

"Why are you even asking me this stuff?" Cat said, trying to sound lighthearted. But Peter could catch that hint of frustration. "What's done is done. You can't change the past, so why are you trying to change it now?"

"I just... want to know is all," Spider-Man said, starting to pace nervously again. This is where his awkwardness in talking to women was starting to kick in again.

"Speaking of which, why are you asking me anyway? Just what's in your normal life that makes you not want to give it up?" Black Cat asked. Spider-Man sat on the edge of the building while looking forward unconsciously.

"Family... Friends... That feeling of normalcy that lets me know that I can actually catch a break every once in a while," he listed off as he looked forward. Then he looked up at her. "How about I show you?"

"Show me what?" Black Cat asked.

"What it's like to be normal for once. It may not be like swinging across rooftops every day, but you'll find that it has a quaint feeling to it," Spider-Man said, holding up a hesitant hand. "Just try it. Once." Black Cat crossed her arms before looking back up at Spider-Man.

"Does this mean I'll actually get to see what you look like under the mask?" she asked, genuinely curious as to what he looked like under the mask.

"Yes. I mean, you wouldn't tell anyone? Right?" Spider-Man asked hesitantly. Cat laughed at how hesitant and apprehensive his voice sounded. But she waved an idle hand.

"Who am I gonna tell? Your secret's safe with me Spider. Besides, I suppose I'd never get to see you again if the man behind the mask was revealed to the world. I really wouldn't want that," Cat said, her tone somewhat softer.

"That's reassuring. Now one more thing..." Spider-Man trailed. Now this really got a frog in his throat. He was about to push this conversation to a realm that he was very scared of entering.

"Well, go on Spider. Cat got your tongue?" Cat said with a smirk.

"What am I to you?" The words came out in sort of a blurt; almost like he was declaring his undying love to her or something similarly corny. But the words had their effect. They got the message across.

"What do you mean, what do I mean to you? Are you talking about as a partner, or..."

"That's the road I'm thinking of, but a little curved. Just... what am I to you?" Spider-Man asked hesitantly.

"Is this your awkward way of asking do I love you?" Cat asked, noting at his strange behavior. Then she sighed. "It is, isn't it?"

"No, I wouldn't say it's anything that extreme. But... I'm kind of losing my mind here. The weird signals that I'm getting from you are kind of overwhelming at times. Let's just... clear the air," Spider-Man said. Black Cat walked up towards him and sort of examined his body language as she stood close to him. Faintly, she could hear his breath catch slightly. She looked at the way his shoulders rose and fell. Too fast to be calm; more on the erratic side. She was defintiely reading some response signals from him that suggested attraction, but she knew he was also pining that normal girl that he seemed to like so much to the point of minor stalking.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are Spider?" Cat asked, her tone a husky one. She never quite used a tone quite as flirtatious as that one, but again, this was how she was probing him.

"I believe so?" Spider-Man asked, somewhat unsure about going through with this. Then Black Cat sighed.

"Ah, forget the foreplay," Black Cat said before pulling Peter's mask up halfway and kissing him full on the mouth. Something told him, something that was more advanced than Spider Senses told him that this was coming. Yet it somehow still managed to cause his body to stiffen, yet heat up slightly in pressure. Peter awkwardly placed a hand on her back before moving into the kiss himself. His eyes closed beneath his mask, and his nerves felt tingly; like a wire with a small electric current had replaced his veins.

"Is that what you were thinking of?" Black Cat said, releasing his lips and backing up to get a full measure of the situation.

"Yes," Spider-Man said somewhat breathless as he pulled his mask back down.

"Then you've got yourself a start Spider. I'll see you around," Cat said with a small, but flirty wave as she jumped from the rooftop and swung away.

Well, it was safe to say that Peter had less questions. But he definitely had new ones. One thing was for sure, however. He might've found that happy ending he was looking for.

* * *

A/N: No, I'm not done.


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting The Groom

"How are you doing?" Peter said as he stood outside of MJ's door. "Can I come in?" She nodded and walked in the door, Peter right behind her. He sat on her couch and she sat next to him, eyeing the look on his face somewhat strangely. It seemed somewhat flushed, but maybe that was just her imagination.

"Do I have something on my face?" Peter asked, putting a hand on his face.

"No, no. You just look somewhat different, is all," MJ said.

"Different how?" Peter questioned.

"I don't know. Just... never mind. What'd you come over here for?" MJ asked.

"I know I haven't been around, but I must confess myself... curious," Peter said.

"About what?" MJ asked.

"I can't really say that I've bothered to meet this guy you're marrying. From what I heard, he works for my boss, but that's about it," Peter said.

"So what? You want to meet John?" MJ said, making Peter nod. "Um, ok. I suppose I can call him so you can meet him. Just give me a moment."

"Of course. Mind if I get a drink of water?" Peter asked.

"Help yourself," MJ said, gesturing to the kitchen. Peter walked to the kitchen, and had to search several cabinets to find the one with glasses. He filled his cup with ice from the freezer before turning the sink's tab to cold and filling his glass. He swirled the contents around for a few seconds so that the cold could settle in the glass better before taking a sip. Peter didn't even notice how dry his throat felt until the water hit it. Then he felt an intense relief.

"Guess all of the fighting tonight took a bigger toll out of me than I thought," Peter silently said before turning back around to head back into the living room. MJ almost immediately came from the side as he walked out, surprising him a little.

"I called him. He said he was willing to meet you," she told him. Peter nodded.

"That's good," he said as he sat back down on the couch. "Thanks for the drink. My throat was killing me."

"You're welcome. But I have to ask. Where have you been for the past few days? You only seem to pop up every once in a while," MJ said.

"Looking at other opportunities. I can't say I want to keep doing the same thing for the rest of my life," Peter said, wishing that crime would just disappear in this city all together.

"I can understand that. I just wish some us got to see you more. I don't see you. Aunt May doesn't. Neither does Harry. Well, except for a few times where you met with Doctor Octavius. Did you hear about what he did?" MJ asked. She noticed the somber look on his face, and that easily answered her question.

"Yes. I did. Man lost his wife and his freedom all at the same time," Peter said, causing a puzzled look to come on the woman's face.

"Freedom? What do you mean?" MJ asked. Peter set his cup down, and looked at her with a serious look that was mixed with the knowledgeable look that he got on his face whenever he was about to go into some type of deep explanation. She had seen many times.

"You see, when I talked with Doctor Octavius, he told me about an inhibitor chip. One that was designed to prevent the advanced intelligence of the mechanical arms he made to handle the reactor core from controlling him rather than him controlling them. Before I left when his presentation went horribly wrong, I saw him get hit directly in the metal spine connecting the arms. That spine leads right up to the inhibitor chip located here," Peter said, pointing to the spot on the back of his neck.

"So basically a chip that prevented mechanical arms from controlling him got destroyed, and that's why he's doing what he is?" MJ summoned up in simpler terms.

"Basically. It takes an intense amount of will to be able to fight the control of the arms. A will that most people can't summon. And after losing his wife and his life's work, it's a will he just doesn't have," Peter said, picking up the glass and draining the rest in a quick gulp before setting it back down. "But nevertheless, he has to be stopped. I only wished things could've turned out better."

"Just how long have you gotten to know the man?" MJ asked.

"Not much. But I did have dinner with him and his wife once. His wife was such a nice and pleasant woman. And Octavius was such a passionate man about his work. Something that could've been used to help people," Peter said.

"What was he working on?"

"A natural energy source. A clean, yet forever lasting and powerful energy with Tritium at the core. If he succeeded, it would've meant limitless energy for everyone. It's something would've eased the lives of many. Money wasn't even his intention."

"That really would've helped people. But it turned about to be bad, didn't it?"

"No. Tritium is too much of an unstable substance to be controlled. At least, so it seems. Still, can't blame the man for trying."

"Suppose not," MJ said as the doorbell rang. "That's him." Peter grabbed the cup that was still full of ice and sucked on an ice cube to help with his thirst a little bit more. He didn't understand why, but he really liked ice cubes.

"Hey John," Peter could hear her say. He heard the contact of lips on flesh, and he didn't have to turn around to know what that was. "I appreciate you coming down here."

"Of course. I heard you talk about this guy, but I never got a chance to meet him," Peter said, hearing footsteps. He swallowed the small remains of the ice cube before turning around to face What's-His-Name. That was his alias until Peter bothered to learn his name. "How you doing?"

"Ok. Other than a little stress. You know I work for your boss?" Peter said, making John smile.

"That explains the stress. Allow me to apologize on his part. I know how he can be sometimes," he said.

"It's alright. You learn to deal with it. At least, you have to if you want to avoid getting fired every two seconds for a job that only requires your services occasionally," Peter said dryly.

"I like you. No wonder your friends like you. I'm John," he said, holding out his hand.

 _"John,"_ Peter's mind faintly said. _"That was it."_

"Peter," he said, shaking the man's hand. Though whether Peter realized it or not, his grip tightened somewhat hard when he shook his hand before letting go.

"Firm handshake you got there," John said as he let his hand go.

"I suppose it's something I'm supposed to have. It takes work to get a handshake like this," Peter said with a small friendly smile.

"I'm sure. You obviously have a better grip than you appear to. I can respect that," John said.

"You seem like a fairly nice guy. Much better than your father anyway. I would also appreciate if you wouldn't tell him I said that," Peter said with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Secret safe. As long as I'll see you at the wedding," John said.

"Deal," Peter said with a nod. "I daresay I would try not to miss it anyway. Lest MJ tear my flesh from my bones." Peter looked towards MJ with a sheepish smile, and she simply shook her head.

"I wouldn't do that. If you have other things going on, I understand. I have for a while," MJ said. That remark made Peter feel a little guilty about how he couldn't be there as much as he would like. But hopefully, things would get better to the point where he could be there. To spend more time with everyone he cared about.

"Well, thanks. But hopefully, things will get better for me. It's just a little bit difficult right now, but it's gotta get worse before it gets better. Nothing I can do but wait it out and see," Peter said.

"Well, we both wish you the best," John said with a nod.

"Thanks. Now I can't stay for too long, so I'm going to say goodbye. Thanks for the water and the conversation," Peter said, picking his cup up, but John stopped him and took the cup from him.

"I got it," he told him with a smile.

"Thanks. Bye everyone," Peter said with a wave. MJ gave a half-hearted wave as she saw Peter walk away without a second look back. Something didn't feel right to her, but everything seemed alright. Her friend and husband met, and got along just fine. She was to be married in a few days. What felt off?

"You alright?" John asked her.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile. But deep down, she wasn't quite sure.

* * *

A/N: Quick update, I know, but hey. Nothing wrong with that. It's definitely quicker than usual with most of my stories. But I'm having fun with this. Plus I daresay that it won't last much longer. Maybe five more chapters, give or take. Probably more.


	3. Chapter 3 - Down, Dirty, and Deadly

"Would you calm down? You're fine," Peter assured her.

"Wow, so brazen Spider," Black Cat said, a smirk on her lips.

"Peter. My name is Peter," he told her. The name felt so foreign on her tongue while she was looking at a guy who dressed up in tights and beat the crap out of crime. It felt too normal for someone so extraordinary.

"Peter," Cat said, the name feeling weird on her tongue.

"We kind of have to refer to each other with normal names while we're out here. So... what should I call you?" Peter asked, looking at her somewhat hesitantly.

Cat pursued her lips. When... _things_ happened, she never thought she'd ever go back to who she used to be. But she would give it a shot for him. A gesture that was not to be taken lightly. Felicia Hardy had fallen off the face of the earth a long time ago.

"Felicia," she said, the name coming off her tongue like poisoned honey. "That's my name. Felicia."

"Lovely name for a lovely girl," Peter said. Felicia couldn't help but laugh softly at his traditional dorkish attitude.

"Could you be anymore cheesy?" she asked with a smile. Peter gave her a shy smile as he moved his right foot in a set pattern in his nervousness. Yet, she could tell that the statement was completely intended to add some hilarity. She felt like she was the only only who caught these things.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek that made his cheeks turn slightly red. "Relax Spid- Peter. It's adorable."

"Thanks," Peter said, giving her a small smile that was shy, yet bright. She wouldn't admit that the smile sped her heart up. "Ready to go?"

"So what, am I meeting your mother?" Felicia joked. The smile was instantly wiped off his face when she spotted the grim look he got on his face at the statement. "Hey, I was joking."

"I know. It's just a bit of a sore subject. But now. That isn't what I had mind. There's a restaurant that I'm pretty fond of. We can go there. It's good, but it's unoccupied a lot of the time. It's a good place to go," Peter said.

"Can we at least swing there?" Felicia asked.

"I never travel any other way. But you do realized you're going to have to wear that leather suit underneath your clothes, right?" Peter pointed out, jerking his thumb at the skin tight suit that he had on his bed. She waved a nonchalant hand.

"Ah, I got a solution for that. I mean, I would hope you wouldn't mind if I borrowed this bag of yours Petey?" Felicia said in a sweet tone that caused him to stumble on his next step as he went towards the door.

"Be my guest. Just try not to lose it," Peter said, his voice laced with a type of deep crackiness, if any care for real words was thrown out the window. She grinned at the effect she had on him. In the suit or out of it. Then she walked up to him and put a hand on his chest while looking up at him as he was a few inches taller than her. He turned a small red color from the closeness and the small hint of lust that was in her eyes. He never met a woman that was this brazen and sensual. She was both of these things, but she also held an element of class and elegance to her; a sensuality that drew you in closer to her. And what she gave you only pulled you in more.

"It's really easy to get to you, isn't it?" Felicia said with a small smile.

"Well... I'd like to think you're really good at this," Peter said, trying to keep his voice level as he stared this seductress of a woman in the eye. Then she smiled.

"That's a really good answer. A really good one," Felicia said, unable to stop herself from grinning. "I'd reward you, but I don't do too much on the first date."

"Ah. That's... that's fine," Peter said, sounding somewhat nervous. Felicia chuckled. She had a lot of work to do when it came to him.

"Alright Peter. Let me change so we can go before I end up giving you a nosebleed," she said, walking in the bathroom to change. She was almost tempted to ask him what would he think of her changing right here. She was willing to bet that he would've been redder than a tomato at the brazen question. She liked doing this to men, but something about doing it to Peter seemed a lot more... intimate. Something that brought her more excitement and pleasure than the simple matter of just messing with him. The cute blush, the shy smile, and the chivalrous attitude all made for an attractive combination in her eyes. Yet it could use a little taint. And Felicia knew she was the one that could help him that.

After she got out of the bathroom and in her attire, they quickly made out for the restaurant Peter was talking about. She had to follow him this time cause she didn't know what restaurant Peter was talking about. It was a first, but there's a first time for anything. Plus she didn't mind the view of his tight little butt. She was probably as appreciative of it as Peter was of hers. And in her eyes, no one could blame either one of them.

Peter dusted himself off when they had changed and gone off to street level. Then Felicia slapped his hand down.

"Oh, stop it. You look fine. Less intimidating in close like this, but you like it like that, don't you? Gives criminals in this city more of a reason to target you so you can beat them down," Felicia whispered somewhat with a grin on her face. Peter couldn't help but smile as he shook his head.

"You know, that never actually crossed my mind. But it's definitely an interesting idea," he said with his smile still plastered on his face.

"And that's why you stick with me. Cause I think of the little things," Felicia said, stroking her hand on the side of his face while walking inside with a sideways look that was definitely meant to tease him from how sensual it looked. It worked, and Peter couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to her as he walked in behind her.

MJ was stirring the coffee that she ordered with a thoughtful look on her face. The idea that something felt off to her just wouldn't shake her. Her wedding was tomorrow, and while she was eager for it, that was all she felt. Eagerness. Not really ecstatic or capable of jumping to the roof in joy. Just... eager. Almost like she just wanted to get it over with.

"God, you're too shy for you own good," MJ heard a woman say with a humor laced in her tone. She didn't bother looking up. The idea that at least someone sounded sure on what they wanted was a little too much for her to handle.

"Take it or leave it Felicia," a familiar voice said that made her freeze in the middle of stirring her coffee. That voice was one she could recognize on the spot. With hesitancy, she looked up from her coffee.

There he was. Peter Parker. The man that could hardly make time for his friends or that was apparently too busy to make plans most of the days of the week was here. He was here, and he was talking with a woman. Well, calling her a woman was an understatement. She looked like something almost otherworldly; something elegant and graceful, yet dirty and seductive. Not to mention somewhat sneaky. She had her suspicions about this woman, there was no doubt about that, but was Peter here to do with her? Did it involve a photo shoot with her or something else? Her first idea was shot down when she noticed Peter was not holding a camera.

Felicia sat at the table she had chosen in the corner while looking directly at Peter. But out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the girl who had her eyes on them. Felicia had to bite her tongue to hold back a smirk. It was that female that seemed to have Spider's attention. Or rather, Peter's attention, as he wanted to accept that part of him too. She didn't quite like it all that much, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try. But back to the female that was looking at them. She wasn't sure if Peter had mentioned her, and to be honest, she really didn't care. At least, until he actually bothered to formally introduce them, which she hoped to God he wouldn't.

But Felicia was a woman to be envied, dammit. She knew that she was the type of woman that made people look twice at their girlfriends for that little bit of reassurance before they lost control. Felicia had the beautiful eyes. The silky smooth silver hair that didn't make her look old, but made her look sexier. She had the bust. The butt. The face. The attitude. The skill. The knowledge. She was about as perfect as a woman as anyone could get. And there was this part of her that was going enjoy flaunting what this _little girl_ had ignored what was in her face all this time. A Spider who was already trapped in her web, but she had let him go. Now he was in her web. And she wasn't going to let him go. She was going to ravish him. And there were so many ways she could do it too. But it would be even better if Peter didn't even know she was there. I'd ruin the effect.

"You seem distracted," Peter pointed out.

"Somewhat," she said, giving Peter a smile as she grabbed his nearest hand while giving him a dazzling smile. "You know Peter, we haven't quite talked about what to do when we get back."

"Probably gonna end interrupted by another crime," Peter said, rubbing hit temples at the thought. She made a small glance over to the girl, and she didn't look like she could make out what they were saying. Good. That would lead to awkward questions for him.

"Perhaps, but that's the fun of it all, isn't it? Stopping crime together while we have a few benefits to being partners," Felicia said, leaning over the desk and while putting her perfectly manicured thumb and index finger under his chin and let her warm breath tickle his face. The feeling gave her words a different type of impact on his mind, and Felicia knew it. She took a moment to glance one of her eyes over and see if the girl was still watching. She was. Good.

Peter couldn't help but feel drawn to the woman's words. He didn't know what it was about her or how she did it, but she knew how to make every single one of her words sound about as sweet as honey, but as dirty as a lace thong. It was why she had an inane ability to make him blush like he was a small child just starting to crush on girls.

"I suppose so," Peter responded as evenly as possible.

"You suppose? Well, I suppose I'll have to give you a crash course as to why. Provided you're good to momma. You gonna be good to momma?" Felicia asked in a seductive tone.

Felicia was teasing him. It was blatantly obvious now. But he liked it. He really liked it. It turned him on.

"Of course. Provided you're good to daddy when he shows up," Peter said, his voice somehow coming out deep and confident. NEVER would he have thought that he would say something like that in _this_ situation and it would come out confident.

Felicia had to hold back her own surprise, but also the urge to take his lips right then and there. It was obvious she was starting to break him down to his dirtier side. His sexual desires. His kinks. Everyone had them, and even Spider-Man was no different. By the sound of things, he loved a little daddy domination action. Ooh. Who would've thought?

"No, I've been a bad girl. I think when daddy gets back he should take me and _punish_ me." Felicia couldn't help but lay on the desire in her tone while leaning forward slightly and give him an innocent expression that came off as absolutely devious.

Peter was squirming in his chair. His 'little spider,' so to speak, was now getting uncomfortable. Now Peter was beginning to regret to take her out in public when she would say things like _this_ to him. Eventually, it was going to lead to a very awkward situation that he did not want to get into. So it was best to probably stop it.

"You are going to drive me crazy, you know that?" Peter said, his cheeks turning red from how mortified he felt.

"What?" Felicia said in a voice that clearly meant she was not ready to stop. "I just need you to spank me, daddy. Spank your little girl." Now Peter was squirming even more now. God, out of all women to be a good match for him, he had to pick one that was an absolute tease. If her job was to try and get him excited, she'd be promoted ten times over. Sweet mother of Mary.

Peter groaned and face planted his head on the desk. Felicia couldn't help but let out a laugh as she finally decided to have pity on him as she put her hands on his gently.

"Alright, I think I've messed with you enough. How about you order something for us both while I go to the bathroom? But do yourself a favor. You might wanna hide _him,"_ she said with a suggestive smirk before standing up and walking off. Peter sighed.

"Yup, I'm in a hell that feels good. How is that even possible?" he questioned as he stood up and went towards the front counter.

MJ watched Peter as he stood up. She saw the uncomfortable way that Peter was squirming as she was talking to him. She didn't want to make assumptions that whatever she was saying was disrespectful, but judging by his reactions, he had said something similar to her. And she didn't shy away from it. She followed up on it; embraced it. The curiosity was starting to eat away at her.

"MJ?" a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Peter was standing right in front of her, and his head was tilted in curiosity. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just having a coffee. You know, I could use a decent start to do the day," MJ said with a small smile. Peter gave her a small smile of his own and he stared to the side with a faraway look before chuckling. It sounded deeper than usual. It sent a strange tingle down her spine from the sound.

"I know those days. Sometimes I don't even have time for the coffee. Just plain busy sometimes," Peter said, shaking his head.

Doctor Octavius was traveling on the top of the buildings with swift precision; his AI arms latching on to the right places and make his traveling speed as effective as possible. He was on a mission; to find Parker and to make him talk about his little bug friend.

 _"We're not here to kill him,"_ the voice of Octavius said.

 _"We will do what is necessary,"_ the subconscious of the intelligence said as one. It was almost as if they were talking from opposite ends of a cave. _"His safety is not important to us. The tritium is. So that we can complete your life's work."_

Octavius silenced then. There wasn't much he could do without the collective intelligence coming together and adjusting this part of his brain. The only reason he still existed if because Octavius couldn't truly exist without Octavius. But he would be gone for a few minutes if disagreed to much. During those times, the AI would have complete control and he didn't know what they had him do during those times. He was afraid of what would happen if they did have control.

 _"There he is,"_ they hissed as Octavius descended down a building. Peter Parker was standing talking to MJ in a cafe. From there, the collective intelligence did the closest thing to laughter as they were capable.

 _"Yes. This is a perfect way to make him cooperate,"_ they said as his mechanical arms grabbed ahold of the nearest car and tossed in through the window.

Peter's eyes widened as he felt his Spider Sense go off. He looked through the side of the window, and saw a car weighing over two tons heading right for them.

"DOWN!" he yelled, pulling MJ down the ground with no hesitation. At the very least, if he hadn't ducked, he would've been hit in the head. As soon as the car landed, Doctor Octavius came into the restaurant.

The shaking crash immediately distracted Felicia from her thoughts. She did have to use the bathroom, but ended up getting caught in her thoughts right after. But now there was no more of that. She immediately ran out of the bathroom, and, sneaking through the hallway that led from the bathroom, she peeked around the corner to see that her Spider, or Peter rather was in the grip of a metal tentacle. A part of her body screamed to interfere; to make him let him go. But she might only succeed in getting all of them killed. So she waited to see if interfering was even necessary.

"Ah, Parker," Octavius said coolly. "Pass a message along for me. If you ever want to see this girl alive again, tell your photogenic arachnid friend that he will meet me alone at the Emmerich Towers three o clock this afternoon." On that note, Octavius effortlessly tossed Peter into a corner, hurting his butt more than anything on the impact.

Without hesitation, after he left, Felicia went over to check on him while rubbing her thumb on the top of his forehead.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. But... looks like I got somewhere to be," Peter said as he stood to his feet.

"You expect me to stay on the sidelines on this one?" Felicia questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it looks like Octavius has an interest in me. For what, I can't really tell, but he wants Spider-Man alone. I don't think he has plans to kill MJ. As for me, I don't know."

"So where do I come in?" Felicia asked.

"I need you to follow us when I get there. Without being seen, mind you. Whether he plans to capture or kill me, I don't know. If he plans to kill, interfere. It's risky to MJ, but... I have a feeling that'd it would be better that we're able to stop whatever he's planning," Peter said, obviously not feeling confidence in his own words. Then his voice turned low and sad. "I don't want her to die. I don't want anyone to die, but this is more personal."

Felicia sighed. She wasn't a fool. She knew there was the possibility that he still held some love for this woman he seemed to like so much. That's why she liked him. Love is not easy for him to get rid of. All she had to try and do was transfer that love over to her. It'd probably be a long journey, but Felicia Hardy was taught not to settle for second best dammit.

 _"You're using your actual name? Wow, he is rubbing off on you,"_ her subconscious told her. She mentally shook her head before going back to the subject at hand.

"Of course I'll help. Sneaking is what I do best. But you haven't told me what to do if he decides to capture you," Felicia said.

"Again, follow him to wherever he is. Free me as soon as you see the first opportunity, and we'll take him down together. But I have to give you a fair warning. He is a VERY dangerous man," Peter said.

"I noticed," Felicia said dryly, but Peter grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. She shivered a little from the look in his eyes, and it was not in a pleasant way. She saw the look of deadly seriousness and concern bordering desperation in his eyes. That let her know the man they were dealing it was definitely no Shocker. He was something far more deadly.

"Promise me Felicia. Take this seriously. Don't pull punches or underestimate him. That will only make this all the more dangerous for you. Just please, please don't-"

She silenced him with a kiss. This wasn't one of those kisses where she was looking to ravish him. No, this one of those kisses she can't really remember ever giving. It was a soft and kind one; reassuring and comforting while full of real emotion rather than lust.

"I promise. Now head towards the Towers. I'll meet you there," Felicia assured him, holding his chin with her thumb and index finger while looking him in the eyes. He nodded and immediately stood to his feet before rushing outside. Felicia then went to go grab the bag she left so that she could change as well.

 _"You're falling hard for him, aren't you?"_ her subconscious questioned.

"Yes. Yes I am," Felicia said aloud before quickly moving to change as soon as she made it to a private alley to change.

* * *

A/N: Whew, these chapters are so fun to write. I never get tired of this story. I'm always thinking of different ideas and elements to add to the story while trying to make it seem realistic, and I would say I'm doing a pretty good job. Any nitpicking is of course, useful, but I also love the fact that people can appreciate how accurate I'm trying to make this. I appreciate you all. Also, I'm contemplating the idea of making a Spiderman 3 version of this story. Anyone interested in that?


	4. Chapter 4 - Shocks and Secrets

"Ok Doc. I'm here. Where is she?" Spider-Man asked, yelling out from the rooftop he was standing on. He knew that the Doctor was somewhere nearby. And his Spider Sense would tell him if he was in immediately danger.

"Oh she's safe," Doc said from on the side of a building, causing Spider-Man to turn around to face him. "For now. Why don't you come get her?" Then he immediately dropped down from the building and landed on a train. Spider-Man immediately grappled onto a higher building to get a higher vantage point before looking down at Doc. He saw that one of the his arms ripped the control panel right out of the train and threw it backwards to blow away in the wind. Spider-Man eyed the control panel, knowing that this train was not going to stop anytime soon.

"Great," Spider-Man said before putting force into his legs and launching himself far, landing near the back half of the train. He then ran to the front of the train where Doc was waiting for him. "Let her go! Now!" A tentacle that narrowly missed his face was his first response.

"Do you see her here? No. I'm not risking my prime hostage so easily," Doc said with a smirk on his face. This caused a displeased frown to come to Spider-Man's face. Down to business then.

He suddenly hit Doc in the face with a web string before pulling down hard, knocking his face into the moving train. The Doctor recovered unnaturally quick before all four tentacles came at him at the same time. Spider-Man attached two webs to two of the tentacles so he could direct himself away from the other two hostile strings of metal that were intent on tearing his face off.

"Mary Jane didn't do anything!" Spider-Man said before using the two strands he was gripping to pull it down to the train and web it there to trap them. But the wind was knocked from his body when a tentacle found its way to his stomach while was doing so.

"Did Rosie do anything?! Did she?!" Doc said with anger in his voice.

"I didn't kill your wife!" Spider-Man exclaimed, climbing on the tentacle that was aimed at his face before hitting Doc with a dropkick that knocked him down to the ground. Though the force was enough to wrench his other two tentacles from the train that were trapped by his webbing.

Two of his arms quickly picked him back up while he put his remaining two tentacles together in a type of spear attack, causing Spider-Man to bend backwards to dodge them before webbing them to the train while still maintaining his backwards pose. The he quickly had to hop up into a jump to dodge another tentacle heading his way.

"Oh, you did more than just kill Rosie," Doc said with a dark tone. But several punches from Spider-Man cut him off. One of Doc's arm got free and immediately went for Spider-Man's back, but Spider Sense immediately alerted him to the danger, so his response was to jump in the air to dodge it, but he was left helpless as another tentacle projected itself at Spider-Man, sending him flying.

"You destroyed my life!" Ock exclaimed with venom. The answer he received was a web to the face before having his feet taken from under him as well as the tentacles.

"If you don't believe me, that's your problem," Spider-Man said with a deep growl in his voice. Then he stopped himself as he knew this wasn't the true Octavius' fault, but... some part of him couldn't help but feel that frustration start to seep its way to the surface.

Octavius immediately used his tentacles to bring himself back up before attaching two of his tentacles to buildings so he got off the train. Turning around, Spider-Man realized why. The train was heading towards the end of an unfinished railroad, and this train was not stopping anytime soon.

"I've got to stop this train. Everyone on board will be killed," Spider-Man said, looking at his options. With no controls, he only had one. And he did not like his chances of succeeding.

"What are you doing Spider?" Black Cat questioned as she saw him jump and attach webs to the back of the train. She had been following stealthily the entire time; watching the fight unfold and wondering whether or not she had to interfere. So far, he was holding his own. But with a train that had no hope of stopping with controls that had been wrenched from the panel, she had no idea how he was going to stop it.

Then she saw him pull as hard as he could to try and wrench the train to a halt. That sounded completely insane even by his standards. But what surprised her was that... that the train was actually slowing down. She saw him pull and pull and pull and the train started slowing down more and more until it stopped completely.

Then, with a pang to her heart, she saw that he fell to his knees as if he was shot in both of them and collapsed to his side. Ever nerve literally screamed at her to interfere. To pick him up and get him to safety. But she remembered what he said about not interfering unless absolutely necessary. And that's what she would do. She knew his priority was to save lives, and this was the best way. But it was also a way that worried her more than she would ever admit.

A bunch of citizens emptied out from the train and surrounded him. But as she saw that the Doctor began to come up to them, she put her head down lower to avoid being seen in the slightest. Then she saw the Doc pick him up before going away. So his intention was to capture, not kill him. Just like Peter thought he would. Or might've done. Only thing that was left was to do follow him back to where his hideout was. Then they could take him down together, rescued this girl that he had captured, and finally finish this. Only she had the feeling it wasn't going to end that smooth.

* * *

"You did it!" Harry said in a surprised voice as he eyed the unconscious Spider-Man on a table. He looked at the vigilante with wide eyes. He knew they had made a deal, but with the craftiness and evasiveness that he knew Spider-Man was capable of, he would've expected this to never happen _ever,_ much less happen this quickly. Less than a day. Amazing.

"Of course," Octavius said in a professional tone. "And now to conclude our business."

"I have the Tritium in here," Harry said, gesturing to a vault over in his corner. But the Doctor immediately lashed a tentacle out towards said vault and ripped it off before grabbing the Tritium inside, making Harry reel to the side to get as far away from the powerful tentacle as possible.

"A pleasure doing business with you one final time Osborn. I leave you to your business and go to tend my own," Octavius said, waving his arm in a type of bowing fashion before heading towards the door. Powerful ears waiting outside of the window caught onto this and it was all a matter of waiting until he left the premises. Then she would strike.

A few moments passed that felt like hours as Harry sat at a chair, looking at Spider-Man's body. This was him - The freak that killed his father. He pretended to be a hero, but Harry knew the truth. Heroes didn't murder people's fathers. The thought itself gave him the strength to pick up the blade that he had sat next to his body. But one final thing gnawed at him. So he put his hand next to his mask.

"Before I kill you, I want to see who you are," Harry said, immediately pulling off his mask. That was her cue.

Bursting through the window with relative ease, glass shards went flying as Black Cat burst through the window. With the grace of a cat that her name suggested she was, she flipped over at Harry before giving him a sharp swipe from the metal claws that were actually made into her suit before kicking him down on the ground.

"No one kills my Spider," Cat said with the closest thing to a furious look and tone as anyone had ever seen her and heard when she had the mask on. Normally she was calm, cool, collected, and in control. Not this time.

"Cat." The voice was sudden and abrupt. Peter rose from the table with his mask missing before webbing it back to his hand. Harry managed to look up while holding his hand to the claw mark on his face, but the pressure Black Cat applied to his head and his arms made that impossible. She was stronger than you would initially think at first glance.

"It's fine. I need him to look at me anyway," Peter said before crouching down in front of Harry who was pinned to the ground. But Harry recognized that voice. And it unnerved him. It couldn't have been... it just couldn't have been...

"Alright. It's your choice," Cat said before releasing Harry from out of her grip. But she made sure to take the dagger from him while standing over in a corner, watching the two. Harry looked up and stared...

...directly into the face of his best friend Peter Parker, standing from the neck down in the genuine Spider Suit. The one that he wore when he murdered his father.

"P-Peter?" Harry said in shock as he sat up and began backing away while still on his butt.

"Me Harry," Peter said gently. It sounded like Peter, but was it really him? The Peter he knew was kind, caring. The Peter he knew would not have murdered his father. "H-how can you be Spider-Man?"

"An accident. A mutation to be more accurate. I didn't kill your father if that's why the shock is so deep, but we have more concerning issues," Peter said in a serious tone. "Where is she?"

"Where is who? What are you even-"

"Harry." The way Peter's sounded caused him to be silenced. He never heard Peter sound so blunt, so serious, so... was that fear? "He has MJ."

Now _this_ is what made Harry look up with urgency. He was talking about Doc? Sure he couldn't have met him.

"No. No, no. He came to me. All he wanted was the Tritium," Harry said. Peter went completely rigid. Now the fear on his face was more clearly defined. Along with panic and more defined urgency.

"Tritium?" Peter said with a small tremor in his voice. The tremor was not missed Black Cat nor Harry. And considering they both knew who this person was and what he was capable of, it scared the both of them more than they cared to admit. "He's building the machine again. If he builds it, not only will MJ die, but he's going to take half of New York with her. Where is he working? I need an address, a warehouse, something. Any place he was working out of before the accident." Harry quickly wracked his brain he knew he had to think fast. Lives that were not just his own were at stake.

"He has a lab that he set up on the abandoned pier. She's probably there," Harry said, quickly losing his nerve at the idea of all these people dying because he gave him the Tritium. So easily. He didn't know what would've happened if his first experiment wasn't stopped. And he gave him more Tritium this time around. Which meant an even bigger blast radius.

"We'll talk later Harry. I promise," Peter said before putting on his mask and turning to Cat. "We need to go." She nodded and followed him out of the window to head towards this abandoned pier that his 'friend' he mentioned. He wasn't even sure that they would be friends after this. She had no idea why as to why he would react like that because he's Spider-Man, but there had to be something as to why he did. At least, that was her guess.

But she had to put that out of her mind. She had the most important job on her hands that was happening right now. And if she screwed this up, she wasn't risking jail time, injury, or the loss of a payday. No, she was risking half and possibly all of this city going up in flames. But at least she had the help of someone who was a more skilled and more noble than herself. The thought caused her to smile, despite the situation.

* * *

She saw Spider-Man land on one of the thick wires that was directing energy and she landed on another that was across from him.

"At last," they could hear Octavius narrate to himself. "My masterpiece will be created. Oh, Rosie. If only you could see it." They saw him raise himself up closer to the machine, and they both figured that was their best time to move.

The both of them landed on another one of the wires before looking around to spot where MJ was left trapped.

"There," Cat said, pointing over to a wall where MJ was left bound up. He looked over there and immediately leaped before handing himself down from a web while Cat landed silently on the opposite side he was at. Octavius smiled even wider.

"So, he didn't kill him, huh? That will make this all the more satisfying," the intelligence of the arms spoke in his mind before turning around.

"Don't worry MJ," Spider-Man said, making her immediately turn around. She was somewhat surprised, yet very much thrilled to see that he was here. She should've known that if anyone was going to save her, it would be him. "I'll get you out of here."

"Make it fast Spider," Cat said, making MJ immediately turn to register her. She hadn't made this woman's acquaintance. And she was not sure if she wanted to.

Spider-Man immediately cut her binding loose before gesturing her to be quiet. But then Black Cat and Spider-Man were both immediately hit in the head by a tentacle. Black Cat mentally shook her head at her own stupidity. While he was untying her, she could've been a lookout. Something so simple was overlooked.

Peter felt his mask tear from the force of the blow while his ears were left ringing. A massive pain was shooting through Cat's head, but she felt that she could still fight. Albeit, her reflexes might be somewhat sluggish.

"None of your cheap theatrics today, cretin. I see that Osborn was too weak stomached to kill you. No matter. I'll take great pleasure in ripping you limb from limb myself," Octavius said with a hiss, not even registering Black Cat's presence.

As Spider-Man began to rise, Mary Jane could see a hint of skin being shown. His mask must've been ripped off. She found a small victory in this situation from finally being able to see what his face actually looked like from underneath the mask.

What she had not expected was to be looking at the face of Peter Parker.

* * *

A/N: Subtle ending, isn't it? I like it though. Really satisfying way to end off the chapter. Can't wait to continue it though. There are only going to be about one or two chapters left in this, so we'll be reaching the end of this soon. But I tell you what. This story has been really fun to write. I will make a Spider-Man 3 version of this as soon as I mull over some ideas and get it started. Hope you enjoyed this chapter people.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Doctor's Redemption

She was shocked. In the simplest and most accurate of words, she was shocked. Down to the core. Standing in the Spider Suit, completely maskless, was Peter Parker. Her throat only unstuck itself to gasp. At that point, she was finally able to make words.

"Peter," she said in a subdued tone.

In that moment, it all made sense. Right then and there. The exhaustion, the late nights, being late to just about everything. When you coupled it with the identity of Spider-Man along with his habits, it made complete sense. And he was hiding this for years now. It made her understand him a lot more. Now she regretting giving him a hard time for being late the way usually was.

"Are you alright Cat?" Peter said, going over to the woman and helping the woman who was still in a kneel up. MJ could hear a type of... tenderness in the gesture. She didn't know if she was reading too much into it or what. The the voice of Doc Ock snapped her back to the threat that they all were actually in.

"Well, well. Parker. You've been sabotaging me all along." To the Doctor, it made perfect sense. Parker was the true cause of ALL of this. "You've been sabotaging me all along. You killed my Rosie. I'm going to kill the woman you love, and then, I'm going to kill you and your little cat friend." The Doctor saw Peter help his friend up before turning to look at him with a serious look. Right. Down to business then.

"No one else is going to die! This ends now!" Peter exclaimed, getting into a combat position.

"Indeed it does," Doc said, advancing on the two. Peter and Black Cat looked at each other at the same time before nodding.

"Ready?" Peter asked.

"As always," Cat said with a smile on her face before they both advanced on the Doctor. The thing that surprised them was that they were knocked back without a single tentacle touching them.

"Whoa! What in the world?" Peter questioned as he and Cat landed back on their feet from the sudden force.

"Shield, Parker. Which means you can't touch me. But it doesn't work both ways," Doc said before lashing two tentacles out at both Peter and Cat, making them have to dodge both tentacles while Peter managed to web the one that attacked him to the wall. But then he noticed the red glow of the console of the machine next to him.

"Cat! Hit that switch!" Peter exclaimed.

"Oh, no you don't!" Doc exclaimed, lashing a tentacle over towards her direction. But Peter used a web and his strength to redirect it back at Doc's face. Unfortunately for him, since his tentacles were immune to the shield, he got a face full of his own tentacle that knocked him off the platform.

"Got it. But that didn't do anything," she said, noticing that the reactor was still going.

"That's one. But how many of these things does he have scattered around this place?" Peter questioned as he looked around.

"Follow the glowing wires. I think those lead to all of the switches," Cat said.

"More than likely," Peter said as Doc came back on the platform, looking eager to finish them both off. "Scatter!"

Then they both took off with Peter going away on a web and Cat on a grapple. But Peter was the Doc's priority target and the bigger threat, so he decided to chase after him.

Looking down at a lower platform and following a wire, Peter saw that there was a switch that there was all the way underneath them. One that was awfully close to the water. So Peter quickly, but deftly climbed onto the wall and cut off the switch. That was another one. However many he put up to go.

Spider Sense warned him of a threat, so Peter moved half of his body to the side to dodge the tentacle that came after him before webbing it to the ceiling of this bottom section. Who knows if we would've been able to get back up if he fell in that water. So Peter quickly shot a web to the edge of the platform he crawled under to move himself out of the way of a tentacle and climbed back up to the top. Then he heard a scream that chilled his nerves.

"Cat!" Peter called, jumping up higher to try and catch a glimpse of her.

"I'm fine! Just... those stupid lightning bolts hurt," Cat called back from one of the same platforms Peter was on.

"Those plasma blasts are really dangerous! Be careful!" Peter yelled before making a far leap into a big room with another switch on the far right. Peter promptly deactivated it before seeing Octavius following him in here. "I can't let you do this! The city will be destroyed!"

"Only you shall be destroyed today, murderous pest," Ock said vindictively, launching two tentacles at him. Peter webbed the ceiling to get over Doc and was about to head out when he saw a plasma field was about to burst out. So he kept back while keeping one eye on Doc and the other on the field. As soon as it retracted, he was going to move.

Peter dodged another tentacle before having to jump over a second one that attempted to sweep him while he was in mid-dodge and put liberal amounts of webbing on the tentacle that tried to sweep him. Once the field retracted, Peter immediately lashed a web onto the ceiling to swing out. What he did not expect was the plasma field to suddenly burst out and knock him into the adjacent wall, making his back suffer from the agony of that force. But Peter bit down a yell and fought through the pain. He was never going near plasma ever again after this.

Peter then held onto the wall and decided to move even faster before the plasma field could expand outward again and knock him into next week. Looking from his part of the high wall here, Peter saw that Cat had deactivated a switch that was on the wall across from him as well as another switch that was on the top platforms. Then he could see her deactivating another one that was on one of the top platforms. And there was one in the building that was near that same switch, so Peter decided to pay attention for any other switches.

Looking to the opposite side that Cat was going to, he saw that there was in fact a trail of energy leading into another room. So he decided to head in there and deactivate the switch that was behind a couple of shipping containers. But that still wasn't all of them. There couldn't have been many left.

 _"Gotta be one more switch some place,"_ Peter thought as he waited for the field to die down. Luckily for him, Doc didn't make it to his location exactly before he was able to leave. At least Peter had him beat in terms of speed.

Looking from the wall on his location, Peter saw Cat coming out of the room she deactivated the switch in before catching sight of Peter on the wall. Then she pointed. There was a switch on one of the top platforms that she didn't get. So Peter quickly went over to it and hit it. From what he could see, there were no more streams of energy being supplied. He smiled.

Cat jumped up onto the platform that he was on before giving him a smile as well. Peter's smile disappeared. How she was unable to smile after being hit in her side like that by a plasma blast was beyond Peter. Some of her outfit was charred from the point that it hit her and her skin was revealed there, revealing a severe burn mark. It almost looked like her skin was charred.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"After a good night's sleep and a drink or two, I'll be as right as rain Spider," she said with a smile. Then he Peter looked at the reactor with a smile.

"That should do it," Peter said before his smile disappeared and was replaced by wide eyes. "Wait a second. The reactor! The energy field is super concentrating! We're in trouble."

Then, without warning, the panel from behind them blew up and knocked them both down to the ground. And Cat had to hold back a yell from landing on her injury. At that exact moment, Doc decided to climb onto the platform they were on with a smile on his face. Peter shook his head.

"Why didn't that work? I switched everything off just like last time! It just isn't fair," Peter said, sounding somewhat like an adolescence when he said that. Cat couldn't resist rolling her eyes at his statement. In her mind, nothing was in this world was fair. But then the soft energy humming coming from Doc started to fade. His smile changed into a shocked one.

"No! My shield!" Doc exclaimed, looking around him. Peter and Cat then looked at each other.

"No more shield, huh? That sounds like our cue," Peter said, rising to his feet. "Let's finish this Cat."

"My pleasure Spider," Cat said as they faced the man in front of them. Doc lashed a tentacle each at the both of them, to which they both dodged, and in Peter's case, webbed to the ground. Another tentacle went after Cat, who jumped over it before wrapping a grapple hook at Doc and moving towards him for a launch dropkick. But one of his other tentacles had that covered before grabbing one of her arms before another one took the other one and pulled her over to him. Peter immediately moved to go after him, but a tentacle that nearly hit his face slowed him down.

"I will laugh over your broken corpse," Doc said, smacking her in the face twice hard enough to send her flying on the ground. Peter unconsciously grit his teeth while his lips were tightly closed. Peter then webbed one of his arms and swung it hard enough to hit him in the back of the head no matter what the Doctor's intent was. Then Peter webbed the Doctor's body before he, with some of that strength he used to stop the train, swung the Doc's body into a wall hard. Hard enough to smash the electric panel that he threw him into. The electrocution caused the Doctor to convulse, but it was strangely... relieving for him.

 _"Failure. Intelligence mainframe s-"_ The Doc could hear in his mind. Then it was gone. The voice was gone. If the current situation wasn't so grave, Octavius would've cheered. This situation was bad. Very bad indeed.

"Wait!" Octavius said, holding out a human hand towards Peter when he was backing up for another punch. "Peter, wait." Octavius' glasses had come off during the shock, and Peter looked into the man's eyes and saw something familiar. He saw grief. He saw guilt. He saw sorrow. But more than that, he saw traces of the man he met at the dinner table, discussing about how he could make the world a better place. And this is what stopped Peter.

"Octavius?" Peter questioned.

"What? Is he good now all of a sudden?" Cat asked, wincing as she rubbed her chin. The man could punch hard.

"He was always gone. It was just those stupid tentacles," Peter said, helping Octavius up.

"The electric blast destroyed the collective intelligence of the arms rather than killing me," the man said.

"I like that trade much better," Peter said with a small smile. Octavius did not smile as he looked at the reactor. The people he killed... the things he did... it hurt him to think that such things were done by his hand.

"What have we done?" Octavius asked before sighing regretfully. "What have _I_ done?" A sharp sound of plasma banging of the metal sides alerted them that the reactor was about to explode.

"Doctor Octavius! We have to stop that reactor before it's too late!" Peter exclaimed.

"This is bad!" MJ exclaimed, walking as close as she could from the other platform. Cat winced as she stood up straight. That plasma blast still hurt.

"That's putting it lightly," she said as she walked up to Peter.

"There's only one thing to do. Get the young lady out," Octavius said, pointing towards MJ. Peter looked at him with a shocked expression. "I'm sorry Peter. You weren't to blame for the accident. My hubris, my vanity cost Rosie her life. Now I must set things right."

Then Octavius used his tentacles to climb down on the lower platform. Peter watched as he began to use his tentacles to tear the building down. Peter knew exactly what he was going to do. And the thought alone was enough to make him close his eyes with regret, but he opened them to focus on the situation at hand. Peter leaped over to the other platform to grab MJ by the waist.

"Hang on!" he told her as he shot a web on to the top of the warehouse. Cat was already moving nimbly as she climbed out of a hole in the warehouse and grappled over to a building. Peter did the same as he swung him and MJ out of the warehouse before hanging onto the side of a building. Peter felt a talk with MJ was necessary considering what just happened. But it wouldn't be a long one though. His body ached.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you MJ. Any of you. There are just some things you have to do, and that was one of them. It was better that you didn't know who I was. So that you could stay safe," Peter told her before smiling. "But hey. You got yourself a nice future ahead of you at the very least. You're getting married tomorrow. So congratulations. I wish you the best of luck." Then Peter used a web to lower her down. But she couldn't help but be lost in her thoughts as she held the web that was lowering her down. Her hands were only gripping it unconsciously.

It was all so much to take in at once. First she found out that her best friend, Peter Parker, was Spider-Man the entire time. It literally explained everything that was weird or unnatural about him once Spider-Man started showing up. He couldn't make it to a play because he had to beat bad guys. He couldn't make it on time for his birthday dinner because he had to save a woman from being mugged. The Daily Bugle wasn't his job. His real job. Being Spider-Man was. And it was something that nearly devoured any hopes of a normal life.

It explained why he let her go at Norman's funeral. He had to keep her safe. That was his priority above all. To keep people he didn't know safe, much less his friends. So he couldn't act on whatever crush or love interest he had with her. And she moved on with John because she didn't know. Then again, it was supposed to stay that way so she would be safe.

"MJ!" a voice suddenly called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts. For a fleeting hope, she thought it was Peter again. But then she realized that she was on the ground. And surrounded by police as well as her soon to be husband, John. Thinking that felt different now. It felt more wrong.

"I thought-" John started, but MJ put a finger on his lips to silence him.

"I'm fine. Spider-Man saved me," MJ said before thinking as an afterthought, _"No,_ Peter _saved me."_

"I don't care what dad says about him. He's definitely alright in my book," John said, pulling her into a tight embrace. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't quite return the warmness that he was giving her. And that gnawed at her. Now she wasn't so sure she was making the right choice. It definitely seemed like she wasn't.

* * *

Peter landed on his balcony(if you could even call it that) and held his pounding head. He was going to have to make another mask, but that could wait. It was a long, hard day. He was sore, mentally and physically exhausted, and tired. But then he heard a soft patter that was almost complete noiseless. But he heard. He only turned around to see a Cat in his window.

"Hey Cat. I thought you'd be resting," Peter said. He looked down at the mark that was still on her, and it was left untreated. The sight worried him a lot. "Hang on. Let me take care of that."

"I'm fine. You don't..."

"Don't bother arguing. I'm fixing it up," Peter said firmly. Cat couldn't resist smiling. There were some cases where Peter took charge. And she had to say she liked it. He wasn't one of those guys to make decisions for her all the time, but when it was important or important to him, he wouldn't back down. That was a perfect example of how it should be.

"After the amount of burning buildings I've gone into for the past few months, it's good to have burn cream on standby. Though I'll need to be a bit more liberal with this," Peter said, dipping two fingers in the cream and smoothing it over her wound. The relief hit her immediately and she sighed. Peter smiled.

"Uh-huh. Quit trying to be tough all the time. Not everyone can do it all the time. Even me. No matter how much I wish I could," he said, continuing to cover the wound in cream.

"Yeah, well... living on the streets kind of does that to you," Cat said softly. Peter's eyes softened, but he finished covering the wound with ointment and placed a tight bandage on her wound.

"There you go," Peter said, wiping his fingers on a dirty shirt that he needed to wash. "Now, I have to ask why you're here. Judging how you were ready to make idle conversation, I doubt it was for your wound."

"I decided to visit. Take more than a little plasma blast to hurt this Cat," she said before removing her mask. Then she advanced on Peter with not a seductive walk, but something more balanced. Then she put a hand on his face. "We make a good team Spider."

"Yeah. We do," Peter said with a smile. Then, with a type of tentativeness, but definitely not fear, he wrapped a hand around her waist. "It was a close call there with those plasma cells. But poor Octavius..." The thought caused the smile to immediately disappear from his face, but Felicia turned his face to make him look back at her.

"He was a good man. But there was no other way to stop that machine. It had to happen. Even then, I could tell he wanted to face atonement for what he did. That was his way of doing so," Felicia told him. "He's with his dear old wife now if that makes you feel any better." Peter sighed, but he knew there was no brooding on it. The sad thing is that no one would mourn for the man. The world will have believed he died a criminal. And who would believe Peter Parker or two masked freaks in masks. They might believe MJ, but there was only so much that could be done.

"You know, you showed me something," Felicia said, gently pushing him down towards the bed. Peter's heart rate immediately sped up. "You showed me that happiness is more than just money. That nobility is a great way to feel right with yourself rather than stealing. I'm grateful for that."

"You're welcome," Peter said, smiling widely at the words she had said. When he first met Felicia, never before would he have thought she would say anything like that. She had definitely changed for the better.

"How are feeling after that fight thought, hero?" Felicia asked with a smile as laid in front of him while facing his direction.

"A little sore after that plasma field knocked me into a wall, but I'll be as right as rain tomorrow," Peter assured her. His hand unconsciously went to stroke her cheek and he looked in her eyes with a soft look. A soft sigh of contentment came from Felicia's mouth as the look he was giving her was one that was making her heart melt. This man was turning her into a princess from one of those book she was read to as a child before her father was arrested. The crazy thing was that she liked it.

"I know you're tough. You'll get through it," Felicia said before capturing his lips. Again, it wasn't one of those hungry kisses that she gave. It was one that was soft and full of meaning. A feeling that neither of them had anything they could rightfully compare it to. Peter loved it when she kissed like this. Then she released his lips before putting a finger on his lips as she knew he was about respond. God, she knew him so well.

"Hush Peter. You need rest, and so do I. Go to sleep. But no funny business," Felicia said with a humored tone as she turned around and laid on the pillow. Peter did the same while staring at the back of her luxurious gray hair. He put an arm around her before pulling her close. Both of them fell asleep with smiles on their faces whether they knew it or not.

* * *

A/N: Still not done yet folks. I'm covering the wedding as well, so that'll be last chapter. It probably won't be that long, but the last time I said that, I came out with a four thousand word chapter. So anything could happen.


	6. Chapter 6 - Problems and Resolutions

A/N: Prepare for a big ass author's note at the end.

* * *

Felicia turned over with a small sleepy moan. She could feel some gentle taps on her shoulder, which only caused her to turn around again to try and shake the feeling.

"Felicia," a kind voice said in her ear. The voice was soft, but it got her attention to where she actually felt like opening one eye. The partial sunlight hit her right in the face, but half of the sun was also blocked by the face of a certain Spider. Her lips curved upward before she decided to open both eyes.

"I was sleeping," she said idly.

"I noticed. But in case you forgot, you did say that you wanted to come to my friend's wedding," Peter reminded her. These words are what caused Felicia to raise an eyebrow.

"I did. But I would think after what happened, they would want to hold it off for at least one day," she said.

"It's more likely they want to do it as fast as possible. So they can be bonded before one of them is put in such a situation again," Peter said.

"That makes sense I guess. But it doesn't help the people who are sore after trying to disable a dangerous reactor core as well as fight a man whose mind was controlled by the tentacles on his back," Cat said, deciding to go ahead and get up. She already saw that Peter was dressed in a suit, smelling good, and his hair in a neat fashion. Her eyes roamed shamelessly over him, causing him to turn slightly red.

"Well, well. Someone cleans up rather nice," she said, her tongue showing only very slightly through her closed teeth. It was a hungry look if anyone had ever saw one. Only, the hunger was not caused by food.

"Just get dressed," he said, shaking his head.

"Fine, fine. I'll take a quick shower. My smoldering outfit transferred the smell onto me. You have more than one towel right?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. In the small closet that's in there," Peter said.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes. I'm glad I left my clothing over here cause I just had the feeling I would be changing over here anyway," Cat said.

"You're going to make this a habit, aren't you?" Peter asked.

"Oh, most definitely Spider. But hey. One day you'll get to watch while I do it," Cat said with a lingering smirk as she walked seductively into the bathroom, looking over her shoulder at him before closing the door. Peter blew out a big puff of breath before putting his hands together while looking at the sky.

"If there is a God up there, please give me strength before I do something I may or may not regret," he said. Felicia grinned widely as she moved from the door. She was expecting a monologue from him after that. She was right in that expectation. Now it was time to prepare herself for a wedding.

 _"More like preparing to watch the bride,"_ her mind told her. She simply grunted before she removed her Black Cat outfit and stepped in the shower.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting. You look wonderful," Peter said as he politely offered her a hand out of the cab.

"I know that. It's these stupid heels. I hardly wear them. Only for robberies that involved such a thing," Felicia said, whispering the last sentence.

"You didn't have to wear them," Peter told her, making Felicia smile gently at him.

"And miss my chance to complete the drop dead gorgeous look? No thank you. Besides, I don't think it'll hurt to have some males jealous of you when they see me on your arm," she said, making Peter shake his head as they linked arms heading into the wedding.

"You're something else. But I'm starting to like it," he said with a smile.

"You'll have to. But I'm also appreciative of the fact that you like me for me. Then again, most people would enjoy my relentless innuendo and brash attitude," Felicia said.

"Emphasis on most. But hey. I do," Peter said with a smile. She had to pull him down somewhat to kiss him, but neither of them complained about it.

"Boy, I wish more people were like you," Felicia said with a smile as they made it into the gate. Classic wedding music met their ears once they did, and they got the classic feeling of one as well. Plenty of conversation before the wedding, that cheerful ambiance. Yet Peter couldn't help but feel something was very... off. He didn't know why.

"Peter!" a familiar voice called out to him that made him smile. Felicia noticed the way his face lit up at the sight of the old woman. He must know her.

"Hey Aunt May," he said gently before hugging the woman tightly.

"I'm glad you were able to make it," Aunt May said.

"Took some doing, but I wouldn't miss this if I could help it," Peter said as they separated. Then her eyes went to Felicia, who could detect a type of warmness that wasn't common among people who looked at her. Felicia, despite whether or not she wanted to appear stoic, couldn't resist letting a smile come to her face as well.

"Well, well Peter. Who is this fine young lady?" Aunt May asked, looking at the man in question while gesturing to Felicia. Felicia saw the curve of his lips go up even further as he gestured to her.

"This is Felicia. Could you believe I ran into her on one of my photography jobs?" Peter questioned. Felicia very narrowly held back a prideful smirk at how he was masterfully narrating the story they had decided to come up with if anyone every decided to question where they met. It's not like they could say they met during an art robbery.

"Or really? By all means, explain," Aunt May said, gesturing to Felicia.

"It was during this one event when Spider-Man had stopped this building from being held up," Felicia said, deciding to refer to an actual event. "Apparently, this charming fellow here decided that posting halfway up a flagpole was the best way to get a good shot of what was happening." Aunt May let out a somewhat shocked gasp, which caused Peter to grin sheepishly.

"I'm a decent climber," he said with a somewhat weak tone.

"I know it's your job to get pictures of things going on, but please Peter. Be careful," Aunt May said.

"I always am," Peter said, before looking to Felicia. "Should you finish the story, or shall I?"

"I might as well finish it. Anyway, he slid down the pole expertly I must say," Felicia said with a small smirk before continuing. "Lost his footing when he took one step forward and we end up in a heap. Apparently, he can handle climbing good enough to not fall, but when it comes to his own two feet on the ground, he's about as skillful as a three year old on a sugar rush."

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed playful, nudging her with a warm grin on his face. Aunt May saw a small twinkle in his eyes, and she had a pretty good idea as to what was going on between the two. At least for Peter. "I'm not that bad. Do I need to bring up the time you accidentally tripped not one, but _two_ waiters when you went to get up to go to the bathroom?" Felicia gave him a sharp poke in the side with a grin of her own on her face. It felt like they actually lived this moment when it never happened. Neither of them understood it, but it felt that much more authentic when the two of them shared it.

"Fine, fine. I'll let up. So, after we land in a heap and he apologizes profusely, which by the way is incredibly cute, yet somewhat exasperating at times, I tell him it's ok. Then once he gets a good look at me, he's thrown off by my gorgeous aura and elegant posture in the midday sun," Felicia said, making Peter shake his head at her description.

"You're certainly beautiful, no doubts about that. But let's face it kitty cat. Your posture matches that of a beauty pageant girl. Which is anything but elegant," Peter told her, making her raise a finger. But then she stopped as if having second thoughts then lowered it. Aunt May could already see a type of balance between the two. They both put their both unique personalities together and it made a pair that was incredibly entertaining and naturally pleasing to see interact. The woman was glad to see that Peter had found someone that, well, at the very least looked to be a great match for. By the looks of things, he seemingly got over his childhood crush on Mary Jane and started setting his sights more to the present situation. And now he was here. As happy as could be with a lovely woman on his arm.

"You two certainly have a unique relationship," Aunt May said with a warm smile.

"That's an understatement," Peter and Felicia said, causing the both of them to look at each other with a bewildered look. Aunt May only smiled wider.

 _"Strangely reminds me of how me and Ben used to be. I hope for a much happier ending for the two,"_ she thought to herself. Her mood was only mildly dampened by that thought. She preferred to focus on the here and now. It was much happier as well as important.

"Shall we take our seats?" Aunt May asked. Peter took the initiative and grabbed Felicia's hand. An initiative that she far from missed before squeezing his hand tighter with her smile growing wider. Maybe he was onto something about being able to live a normal life. There were just some moments you couldn't get out there. She kind of understood it now.

"Lets," she said as they walked to the front row. It seems MJ had reserved the seats for him and Aunt May. But there was no third. This left Peter in a bit of an awkward spot.

"Er..."

"No need Peter. You don't need to latch on to your aunt all the time," Aunt May said with an amused tone. "I'll take a seat somewhere else." Felicia smiled at the older woman with a warmness she didn't think she was capable of.

"It was nice meeting you. You're a wonderful lady," she said.

"You as well. I see some light for the two of you. Enjoy yourselves," Aunt May said, walking over to the other aisle to find another seat. Felicia then looked at a grinning Peter.

"I really like her," she told him.

"It's hard not to. She's definitely family. About the only bit I have left," Peter said. But Felicia noticed that he didn't waver. He stood as stolid as ever. He seemed to happy for that to damper his mood.

"Take a seat hero. I don't need those legs of yours going at on me like at the flagpole," she said, pulling him over to the seat. Peter didn't think it was possible, but his grin managed to get bigger.

* * *

Mary Jane tapped the dressing room desk with her fingers just as restlessly as her feet were tapping the polished wood floors. Now that she was here, in the wedding gown, nearing the time to get married, she felt more and more unsure of herself. The more and more this whole thing felt... wrong.

She felt like it was the wrong person waiting for her outside. At least not for this moment. She couldn't help but remember a soft pair of eyes behind a pair of glasses for years before they were gone. No longer necessary. She remembered... so many times in school where he had been picked on. Then he had the ability to fight back.

 _"You know who I am... Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"_ There had been a long pause in between when he said those words. At the time, she thought it was just for dramatic effect. Now she realized that there was in fact a hidden meaning behind the words. That the same man who saved her from dying at the hands of a madman was the same guy who got picked on day after day in school. Amazing how things ended. It was miraculous. Magical even, if you could believe such a thing was possible.

Then there were the looks he gave before. Those shy, side glancing looks that he gave her only to turn away and turn slightly red in embarrassment of having been or nearly been caught by her. She didn't quite think of the looks before. Thought she was just imaging things at the time. Then it became somewhat apparent that he liked her. Back then, she didn't quite think of them. Now, when she didn't get those looks anymore, she kind of missed them. That shy look of faraway admiration on his face. It made her feel cared for in a way that wasn't quite on the same dimension as a parent's. It was different. It was for _her._

Then there was the passion. Peter threw himself into whatever he wanted with a vigor that was very possibly unmatched by anyone. She felt that passion when he told her he wanted to be a photographer. She felt it when he told her that he would try to make things better for the both of them. She didn't think he meant it at the time. But he _did._ His responsibility as Spider-Man was the only thing that held him back. Now that she thought it, he wanted so badly for them to work. But he knew he couldn't. And she couldn't wait. Now she was wishing she did. When she said that she loved him years ago, and he denied her, she understood why.

 _"Maybe it can work,"_ a hopeful part of her mind thought. It was hopeful, but it was there. It was also what got her to write on the pad that was next to her. There was a type of vigor in what she did. She wanted this. Now that she had realized everything he had given for her, for this city, and what he had sacrificed, she wanted them to work. They _could_ work. She didn't think there was anyone that understood him like she did. He had been there as much as she could, and she had never done the same. Time to change that. She changed out of her wedding gown and into some regular clothes. Luckily her mom and bridesmaids had already exited the room to give her a few minutes to herself. Good thing too. This would've been _really_ hard to explain to them otherwise.

She didn't walk out of the aisle. Rather, she took a different route to get out through the side. That way she could keep her eyes off the confused, and maybe in some cases, disappointed crowd. Her priority was just to get to John. Once he looked at her, she had expected the very confused look on his face. And rightfully so. But she could feel that stab of guilt in her gut. It sat in there like a parasite, just gnawing at her the more and more she looked at his confused face, but she knew that she had to do this. She cared enough about Peter to do this.

"Mary Jane? Wha-"

"John, I'm sorry. I didn't enter this relationship fully committed," MJ said, putting the note that she had written in his hand. "I have to right a wrong." She then turned back to face the crowd so that she could get out.

And promptly froze at what she saw.

She would've definitely understood if Peter had taken the day off. Rather, that's exactly what she was counting on. Plus he hadn't expected for him to be here based on principle. So to see him here was definitely a surprise.

But that's not what made her freeze up. The thing that made her freeze was the woman who was holding his hand. It was the same woman that she saw at the diner with Peter. It was very clear they were holding hands the whole time they were waiting for the wedding to start. She ended up making eye contact with the woman, and her eyes narrowed as if she had a good idea as to what her thoughts were. And she didn't like them. At all.

 _"Too late Mary Jane. Too late,"_ her own head told her in a type of mocking way. She didn't realize that she was standing near the front of the aisle looking like a fool, just standing there until after a few seconds. Then she took one look at Peter, who had a very confused look on his face before promptly leaving out.

Now Peter was left scratching his head among the murmurs of the crowd and exclusively, the very disappointed look on John's face. He looked to Felicia, who was to looking back at where Mary Jane had left before turning around to face him.

"Huh. Well, that was interesting to say the least," Felicia said idly. "To think I got all dressed up for nothing."

"Something seems wrong. She seemed to so ready to get married when I talked to her about it a few days ago. But then this happens," Peter said, glancing between the front of the aisle and the door MJ left out of.

"I think I have a pretty good idea as to what's going on," Felicia said, making Peter focus his full attention on her rather than the entry and end points of the aisle.

"Enlighten me," he said.

"This is fully a guess, by the way, so don't butcher me if I'm wrong. But my guess is that she always liked you. Suppressed that feeling, but she did. Now, I'm sure at one point she acted on this, but you denied her, which was thinly veiled, am I correct?" Felicia asked. Peter looked at her with his eyebrows slightly raised in surprise from how spot on she was, but he nodded.

"Now, after that, she wanted to find someone else to replace you. Someone who wouldn't deny her and somehow who didn't have your responsibilities," Felicia said, smart enough to not to say that he was Spider-Man out in public. "Then came in John."

"But I think over the past few days, weeks even, she started to have some doubts. Started to question whether or not she was getting married for love or getting married just to get married. Just have someone to be tied down to and forget about it."

"The incident at the warehouse is what I think did it. She started thinking back as to all of the events that lead up to this that involved you. After the cat was out of the bag, no pun intended, it all started to make sense to her. It also became clear as to who she wanted more. And now we're here," Felicia explained, holding her hands out as if she were bowing while sitting down. "Again, it's just a guess."

"I've never heard of a more elaborate guess in my life," Peter said as he began hearing people getting up from their seats to leave.

"Love is like that. But there's only one thing that throws a kink in her little idea," Felicia said.

"And that is exactly..." Felicia heard the lingering smirk in his voice and liked it. She leaned close enough to his ear for her breath to tickle it while speaking in a husky tone.

"You're in my claws Spider. And I'm not gonna let you go anytime soon," she said while pulling him to his feet. "Now come on. You can have a conversation to sort things out later. Right now, there are some things I want to do to you."

"As tempting and immensely dirty as that sounds, I need to speak to Harry. After last night, he needs it. Maybe I can salvage something out of where our friendship currently stands," Peter said, making Felicia nod.

"I understand that. I'll be waiting for you at your house then," she said. Peter then got to his feet and stood up to head out towards the Oscorp building.

* * *

Harry was sitting down in the hidden passageway behind his father's mirror. It still took him some time to take in what he saw. Gliders that the masked villain from a few years ago rode. Bombs that lined shelves all across one wall. Chemicals in these vials the size of butcher knives. Not to mention a mask that illuminated its own little corner of the room with an ominous bright yellow-orangish glow. His father was the Green Goblin.

It was still hard to take in. He knew his father had problems. Among them being his attitude and natural state of mind, but to become a psychotic, murderous freak? It just didn't make sense in his mind.

 _"Maybe that's why Peter murdered him, huh?"_ his mind thought spitefully. Harry gripped the edge of the vial of chemicals he was holding in his hand harder before looking up to take another look at it all.

"Harry?" a faint voice called to him from outside, making him snap his heard towards his the entrance.

"What in the world happened?" Peter questioned aloud as he stepped on broken glass. Then he looked inside of the mirror and saw that there was a hall. Since when did windows have halls? His curiosity was peaked as he went to step inside. Halfway in, he met the person in question he wanted to talk to.

"Harry," Peter said while a hand was outstretched towards him. "We need to talk about last night."

"What's there to talk about? You killed my dad. I assume you did because of all this. He was a monster, but he was still my dad. We could've helped him," Harry shot at Peter.

"I didn't kill your dad. I laid his body for you to find. That doesn't mean I killed him," Peter told him.

"Then what happened? The whole world saw that The Green Goblin grabbed Spider-Man and flew him to a different location. After that, the Goblin wasn't seen, but Spider-Man was. What am I supposed to believe killed him? Huh?" Harry questioned as he moved an inch from Peter's face. Peter seemed far from intimidated, but more sympathetic. He didn't look hostile. He didn't stand hostile. There was just a type of... understanding that made Harry back off and calm down.

"I'll run you a play by play as to what happened up to him dying. Trust me, in this line of work, you remember moments like this very vividly," Peter said, his voice unnaturally grim. "After Norman grabbed me, he threw me into an abandoned house. I didn't make the most graceful of landings, but I lived. But then one of those blasted Pumpkin Bombs was thrown into the room. Blew half of my costume into ash and knocked me into a wall. I remember feeling sore for a while after that one."

"What also doesn't help is that very same person who threw the Pumpkin Bomb begins kicking the crap out of you. Thwarting every attempt you try to make for a counter and just knocking you back down every time. Not sure if I would've made it out alive if he hadn't gone into a monologue as to what he planned to do to MJ. Strangely enough, it gave me strength. Even now, it seems like something out of an action movie with a very cheesy romance plot," Peter said, mentally chuckling at the thought while physically shaking his head. Even Harry tilted his head at the way it sounded. But at the same time, he didn't think he was lying. He knew he cared for the girl a lot. And that she was one of the people trapped on the bridge he held up.

"Anyway, it was enough for me to avoid getting stabbed in my face before making a quick comeback. At least until Norman seemed to have come back into his own body and away from seemingly demented second personality of his. His plea and him removing his mask was enough to get me to stop," Peter said, getting Harry's attention. This definitely lead up to his death. He could tell.

"After that, I couldn't tell whether he pressed a button or his glider was sentient, but it ended up behind before Norman was gone again and the Goblin told me, 'Godspeed, Spider-Man.' That instantly let me know something was wrong. Spider Sense alerted me to a threat behind me, so I instantly made a leap in the air. Only the glider didn't plan on stopping. Impaled the Goblin right above his private area," Peter said before cringing. "Now that I think about it, he would've died very painfully if that glider had been a few inches lower. But there's still nothing like seeing your friend's father clutching onto life while a glider with a giant knife in the front has him pinned. Blood spewing from his mouth, twitches..."

Peter then seemed to visibly shiver at the thought, and Harry saw that either Peter was a good actor, or he was actually reliving it. But then he grabbed Harry's shoulder before looking at him.

"The last thing he told me was to not tell you. That he had become... this," Peter said, gesturing all around the room. "But you found out anyway."

"He told you not to tell me? Why?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he was ashamed as to what he turned into. The thing I really want to know is why. Why did his mind go like that? Your family doesn't have a history of psychotic or schizophrenic breaks, do they?" Peter asked.

"No, of course not. We weren't affected by much of anything," Harry said, shaking his head. Then Peter noticed the vial in his hands.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"Some chemicals I found on a shelf. It seemed important to what he was doing if he kept it," Harry said, handing the vial over to Peter. He looked at it before looking to the computer that was in the room. He then moved over to it before putting the vial in the hole that was next to it before typing rapidly on the computer. It was oddly cool to see Peter working from a computer like many of the lab experts that his dad worked with. There was a beep, and Peter's eyes widened.

"A performance enhancer is what this is. But an imperfect one. It works, no question about that, but the data isn't all there. The after effects of the chemical when it meets the brain negatively effects thought process and frame of mind. When the Goblin punched, he punched like something akin to a freight train," Peter said, looking at the chemical.

"So are you saying this chemical is what caused my father's mind to go?" Harry asked.

"I'm more than certain," Peter said, picking up the vial and handing to it Harry. "I recommend getting rid of the stuff. It's better if you're not exposed to this stuff either."

"I'm going to finish it," Harry said firmly. Peter looked him with a sideways look.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"I'm sure. My father always said that I should be better than him. Well, I'm going to start. Can you help me finish this? You know a lot more about this stuff than I do," Harry said. Peter looked at Harry strangely, but he knew it was better that he help him than have him go through this alone.

"I will help. But what's the point? Is it just on principle, or..."

"I did say I was going to be better than my father. I'm going to do what he did. Only this time, it'll be on your side. I won't be burning buildings. I'll be saving people from them. With your help," Harry said, looking at Peter with one of the most intense faces he had ever seen his friend wear. He seemingly thought about all his father did and what he had seen Peter do. He wanted to do what Peter does. Not what his father did. Or rather the Goblin did. He didn't want to associate that monster with his father.

"You're set on this?" Peter asked.

"Most definitely," Harry said.

"Then I may well teach you how to fight so that you're more properly prepared. At least if you need it," Peter told him.

"Where did you learn how to fight? I mean, I now know that you had your powers while we were in school when I remember the stuff you did," Harry said.

"I mean, it had came naturally. I got more formal practice in an underground wrestling ring," Peter said.

"You went to an underground wrestling ring?" Harry questioned, looking at Peter with a bewildered look.

"I wanted to win the prize money so that I could impress MJ with a car. That wasn't long before... Uncle Ben," he said before pursuing his lips and a type of grim silence overtook him for a few seconds. "But it encouraged me that I should do what I do. I found my encouragement in that. I suppose you're finding yours with what your father did."

"Yeah. But hey. It seems like you did a lot of things to impress her, didn't you?" Harry said with a small grin as he lead Peter out of this place, who grinned back.

"I suppose so. She knows, by the way. Doc knocked my mask off and she saw me," he said.

"Shame she's getting married. I'm sure you would've actually had a chance if she wasn't," Harry said, patting Peter on the shoulder.

"I was over that a few days ago," he said, walking past Harry as he had stopped in shock. Peter then looked back at his friend with a slightly worried look. "Harry?"

"You, _you_ out of all people, who has been crushing on Mary Jane since you were little, got over it?" Harry asked in a subdued tone.

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of hard to believe," Peter said, chuckling mildly.

"That's putting in kind terms. But I suppose it was the best thing considering she's getting married," Harry said as they sat down on the couch.

"She's not actually. Getting married, I mean," Peter said, again, making Harry freeze from the shock.

"Just how many surprises do you have for me?" he asked.

"Too many. It's been a crazy couple of weeks," Peter said.

"Obviously. You have any idea why they're not getting married?" Harry asked.

"Well, Felicia thinks..."

"You lost me again. Felicia? You're moving too fast," Harry said. Peter only shook his head again before grinning even wider.

"Ok, how about I start at the top?" he asked.

"That would be preferred," Harry said. But he was grinning about as much as Peter was. They felt somewhat... rekindled as friends now.

* * *

Felicia tapped the side of Peter's nightstand somewhat impatiently as she was waiting for him. When he had said that he was going to have a talk with Harry, she didn't think that she would be waiting here for hours. She had gone to take care of a crime after she heard some sirens outside his window, but that only took minutes. She had half a mind to just go get him. But she would let him finish his talk. After all, when you think your best friend murdered your father, it was bound to raise up some issues. Judging by how long it was taking, it seems it didn't become violent and they were able to meet on neutral ground. She was glad that he was able to make up with his friend. She just wished it didn't take so long.

Then she heard a knock at the door. The sound caused her to frown. She knew Peter would've just arrived on the small balcony outside unless he needed to arrive looking normal. Even then, she knew he had to have a key to this place. So why would he knock?

"Peter? Are you in there?" a feminine voice questioned. One that Felicia didn't necessarily want to hear. It was that girl at the wedding. She couldn't remember her name, and at the moment she didn't care. She was just going to wait for her to go away when she didn't hear a response. What she didn't expect was the door opening of its own volition, making her look from her relaxed position to look at the woman who had just barged in.

"It's awfully rude to just barge in someone's home," Felicia said idly. Mary Jane was far from pleased to see that she was here and not Peter. What really seemed to irk her is that she was lying in his bed like she was used to being here.

"Where's Peter?" MJ asked.

"Taking care of grown folks' business," Felicia said.

"And I'm not grown up?" MJ questioned.

"Well, setting yourself up to be married to a guy that you aren't one hundred percent on isn't necessarily the most mature thing in the world in my eyes, but you know. To each their own," Felicia said in the same idle, careless tone. It was a tone that quickly began to get under MJ's skin more than she would care to admit.

"It was a mistake I will say that..."

"Quite the mistake. I wouldn't wish to be left on the altar like that on some of my worst enemies. Emphasis on some," Felicia said with a pointed look.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" MJ asked.

"What? The fact that I have so much ammunition to use against you because of what you did to your almost husband? Or the fact that Peter spends his nights cuddling, kissing, and talking to _me?_ Both of those choices are rather enjoyable to me," Felicia said, a wide grin replacing the idle look on her face. That look spiked a little anger in MJ.

"Peter loves me," she said boldly.

"Course he does. Just not in the way you want it," Felicia said, going back to her idle tone.

"You stole that from me," MJ said, her tone somewhat accusing.

"I only steal what belongs to someone. You had possession of it for years. Then Peter put it up for auction. And I bid immediately. It was very much worth it too. No man I've ever met is like Peter. The kindness and happiness he radiates makes me feel warm in a way I haven't felt in years and never thought I would ever again," Felicia said, a smile creeping on her face at the thought of the treatment that she had gotten from the man. "He loves to listen to me, but never lets me take charge all the time. He's kind, but knows exactly where to draw the line. He's caring. He's loving. So here's my question. You had his love for _years._ How do you let someone like _that_ slip through your fingers?"

MJ noticed a drastic change in the woman's attitude. She wasn't taunting or teasing or messing with her head. She genuinely wanted the answer. Because it looked like it baffled her. And MJ couldn't really blame her for that. There was some choices she was regretting.

"I told him I loved him! Years ago! But he told me no. I thought-"

"And that was enough?" Felicia said before letting out a short laugh that was definitely mocking. "And Peter wonders why I think of you as a little girl. Did he say he didn't love you back?"

"No. He just said he would be there as my friend," MJ said.

"Did he give any indication that he actually truly meant what he said?" Felicia asked. MJ thought back to that day. He had this resolute, but yet someone veiled look on his face. She didn't think of it at the time. She thought it was just how he felt at the moment considering everything that happened.

"No," MJ said hollowly.

"And you gave up. When you tell something that they have to respond to, don't listen to what they say. Listen to what their bodies are telling you. Most of the time, they tell the truth more than their mouths do. And even if he did give that indication, why give up? If you care about a person, unless they find someone else to care about, you pursue them. And pursue them. Don't give up on the rip. You give them your attention and that affection that shows that you care. Do it until there's no hope in sight or if it looks like it's on the brink of messing up your friendship," Felicia said, sitting up to look at the woman better. "Wanna know the very advice my father gave me? 'If you can help it, never settle for less. Work for the best.' And that's exactly what I do. I work for the best of the best. In terms of relationships, I achieved that. And I'm glad too. Never in my life have I met a man who knows how to say and do things that made me feel like I'm in one of those fairy tales from one of those books my father read to me as a child. I definitely wasn't a fairy tale type of girl. Until now, at least."

MJ tilted her head at the woman. Up until now, she was speaking with an idle tone most of the time. But when it came to talking about this particular subject, her voice was filled with passion. With vigor. With will. Not to mention words that seemed as heartfelt as you could get from a woman who seemed more sensual than heartfelt. She was speaking to her genuinely.

"So, try if you must to try and steal him from him. Try as hard as you can. Put the effort in now that you never gave before to try and steal him from me. You will not succeed. I will not come to blows unless you try to kiss him or anything beyond. Don't do that. Cats are very territorial. I have yet to mark him, but that'll come at a later date," Felicia told her, sounding half sultry and half aggressive. It was like poison honey on the ears. The threat was definitely there, and unless she was mistaken, this was that Cat lady that helped rescue her from the Doctor. If she was good enough to go on missions like that, she wouldn't stand a chance.

"You're not at all worried about me?" MJ asked, making Felicia let out a laugh. It was just loud enough to fill the small apartment, sounding as light as air. It also made her feel somewhat offended.

"Worried? Let's put aside the fact that I trust Peter for a moment. What do I have to be worried about a little girl who seems to give up at the slightest bit of denial? Why do I have to be worried a girl who doesn't understand him nowhere near as much as I do. And before you go arguing..." Felicia trailed before MJ even opened her mouth. "...you stopped understanding him a long time ago. I understand him more. What goes on in his mind. The stresses of his hero work while still trying to balance a normal life. Not only that, but I help it with him it and making it easier on him. That's something you can't do."

MJ pursued her lips to the point where it didn't look like she had lips at all. Everything she said was correct. She held all of the cards. Not only that, but she knew Peter was not the type to cheat no matter who he was with. Plus it would be hard to cheat on someone who looked like Felicia. It took everything in her not to compare how she looked to this woman. But there it was almost like an itch she couldn't scratch because she was trying her hardest to avoid comparison.

"We'll see what happens," MJ said, taking a moment to look down on the ground before walking out of the door. She promptly heard a lock click before footsteps began to fade.

 _"Now I'm actually kind of glad he's taking so long. Not only would we have gotten interrupted, but I loved every second of that conversation,"_ Felicia thought, a smile on her face the entire time.

It was about a good twenty more minutes before Peter came in. He went through the front door, but like expected, she heard an immediate click rather than a knock. He walked in, and she immediately got to her feet. He turned and smiled at the sight of her.

"Hey Felicia," he said warmly.

"Hey Peter. I didn't quite expect you to take so long," she said with an insistent tone in her voice. Peter grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry. I ended up catching up with Harry about everything that's been happening. My time as Spider-Man, MJ's cut short wedding, and you," he said genuinely, making her look up at his shy grin. She loved seeing that grin.

"Oh, really?" Felicia asked.

"Really," Peter said.

"This means that you managed to convince him that you didn't murder his dad?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah. And, well, he seems to be getting the closure that he needs. He also told me that he wants to help us. There are some performance enhancers that I promised to help him perfect as well as teaching him how to fight. Then once he gets used to the glider that he's going to make that's more his style, we'll have considerable help from him," Peter explained to her.

"I didn't think he'd go as far as to commit himself to fighting crime," Felicia said.

"Neither did I. But he's set on doing so. And I think this would be good for him. He's starting a legacy for himself that his father surely would've wanted," Peter said before clearing his throat. "Now, that that's out of the way, what'd you'd want me to meet you here for?" Felicia grinned before walking sensually around him while trailing one of her nails softly across his neck before hitting the button to a stereo she brought in. As she turned around, Peter's heart immediately sped up. She was wearing a lusty look so apparent, it would've turned the Pope into a tomato under a Red Sun.

"I'm going to show you the ropes as to one of the requirements my job requires," she said, pushing him down on the bed. He didn't know and didn't care about the music that was playing on the stereo when she pressed his lips to his. It almost felt like fire, but he only pushed in. Somewhat sloppily, but he soon controlled himself to focus his lips on her better. She grinned through the kiss.

"A fast learner? I like that," Felicia said very briefly before going back down to his lips.

 _I'm like a firecracker_  
 _I make it hot_  
 _When I put on a show_

 _I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins_  
 _Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break_  
 _I'm like a performer, the dance floor is my stage_  
 _Better be ready, hope ya feel the same_

Peter put one hand on her butt with his other on her back, pushing her further down. Even through the fabric of the shirt she changed into, she could feel his electric touch through it. It sent a small shiver through her body. She then put one of her hands on his left cheek while her other hand felt his chest through the fabric of his shirt. Felicia came up only very briefly for some air and to say something.

"Open up that tongue for me baby," she said before locking lips with him again. He grinned at the word baby before making contact with her tongue. It was a strange sensation; two tongues meeting like that. But certainly not unpleasant. Far from it. During her kissing, she moved her tongue with these type of flicking motions on his that sent a weirdly pleasant sensation down his spine before he pinned her tongue down. But she was not giving up without a fight.

Both of their tongues engaged in a wrestling match; Felicia's tongue being more experience and skilled, but Peter's seemingly having the same slippery, yet strong nature that his body held.

 _You have got that fire in your eye-eyes, eye-eyes,_  
 _Oh boy, there's a way in here we can make some noise_

For them, the music registered in their minds only slightly. But yet it just being there seemed to enhance the experience. Time passed by seemingly like they weren't on the right time plane. It was just the two of them, but time itself seemed to have stopped. It was just them. Just them.

 _Just take it slow_  
 _'Cause we got so far to go_  
 _You gotta feel that heat_  
 _And we can ride the boogie_  
 _Share that beat of love_

"I love you," Peter said when they came up for air. His breath tickled her face, but it were the words he said that she paid attention to. "Considering how quick it happened, you might not believe me, but..."

"I love you too you goof. You need to stop overthinking things. There are things that you don't think, but you feel. This is one of things that you don't think, but you _feel._ What are you feeling?" Felicia asked him.

"I feel happy. I feel this is who I belong with. I also feel like kissing you more and more until my lips fall off," Peter said, making Felicia grin as she leaned over him like a Cat stalking her prey. Pun intended. Though no Cat was as sexy, seductive, and as beautiful as this.

"I'll be happy to oblige that certainly. You learn fast. Think you can keep up?" Felicia asked.

"Says the woman who's not as fast as me," Peter said with a smirk, referring to their last race to the warehouse. Her grin only got wider before she took his lips again.

* * *

A/N: Songs I reference: Circus by Britney Spears, Electricity by Ashley Jana, and Rock With You by Michael Jackson. When it comes to Circus and Electricity, I prefer the Nightcore versions. Now that that's out of the way, that was the last chapter to Crossed Your Path! This was the longest chapter by far, but only because I had a lot of stuff to cover.

When it comes to Harry, I think that Peter did not go and visit Harry like he promised him, which leads to Harry believing more and more that Peter murdered his father. Whether or not he was the psychopathic Green Goblin. The talk that he promised him changed his urge to want to kill him, and rather an urge to help him and be better than his father. Something he severely wants to do. As for the wedding, I think I handled that fittingly.

New Goblin will still be a thing, but rather much sooner and much more publicly because of Harry's desire to help people just like Peter does. The conversation with MJ and Felicia was just for fun. And I think I was rather overdue of Felicia getting her hands on Peter and kissing him senseless. Decided to change that.

I did plan on making a Spider-Man 3 version of this, but that'll take some planning and thinking. Yes, this will follow the game storyline because this was in fact the Spider-Man 2 the game. So we'll have the involvement of the gangs like the Dragon Tail, Apocalypse, Arsenic Candy, Mad Bomber. The incident with Scorpion and Mechobiocon. Etc, etc, etc. Such involvements were incredibly entertaining and creative, so it'll be fun writing those. I'm sure many of your will wonder what I'm going to do with the symbiote? Well... you'll have to wait and find out. *laughs deviously*


End file.
